Returning with a loved one

Taking a deep breathe, Smokepelt lead Goatpaw into the WindClan camp and slowed to a halt when they reached the center of it. He knew that it must've been hard for the she-cat, coming back to this place, all the familiar sights and scents, but it was her choice and there was no going back now.

Looking around, he noticed some of his clanmates start to gather, confusion on their faces as they murmured to one another, but he wasn't going to let that get to him and needed to find Ashstar before anyone could make any false conclusions, like they usually did...

"Ashstar!" the deputy's voice boomed over the now bustling camp as Goatpaw stood close at his side. Although he knew Ashstar would probably be accepting of his long lost friend, his clanmates weren't always very agreeable with him and his choices, and he hoped that they didn't disapprove of him bringing her back to the clan, although, in the end, their opinion on whether she returned or not wasn't exactly relevant.

Goatpaw shuffled by Smokepelt's side, the fur on her folded ears swept up like a white wave. She stood defensively beside the WindClan deputy, her gaze vitriolic. She bit her tongue, between the off-white precipices of her teeth. "Smokepelt..." she began, but trailed off with fear. She acted as if she were being faced with an enemy clan, the petite she-cat's oculars wide. She shrunk behind Smokepelt. She knew the dusty grey molly who reigned WindClan well, but she couldn't shake the foreign feeling off of her pelt... who was there?

Clumps of sprouts clung to her ivory fur, creating a natural adornment for Goatpaw. She gingerly stepped through the grass to stand beside Smokepelt, coy as she pressed herself into the field of green. Her confidence paled when she looked out across the vast plains. This is camp? she wondered. Okay... Goatpaw squinted her gold-flecked eyes, knowing there would be cats skeptical of her return.

Ashstar got up with a start at her son's call, dropping the hare in her mouth. What was it this time? She ran out of the den to see Smokepelt standing next to a bedraggled white figure who smelled strange, yet somehow familiar. "Smokepelt, who is.... Wait." The leader padded up closely, looking into the she-cat's eyes. No, it can't be. "Goatpaw? Is... Is that really you?" Tears welled up in her spring green eyes and buried her face into her former apprentice's dirty ivory fur. "StarClan, but it's wonderful to see you. I thought you were dead! Where were you all these moons?"

Goatpaw was surprised when Ashstar came, and she raced up to the leader, pressing her nose into the she-cat's soft, grey fur. She tried to quell tears, but they came streaming down anyways. I'm home! Ashstar was a cat as close to a mother as she had ever gotten. She was saddened when she remembered the reason she had left, and it was a mixture of two things. Her ears sagging, she continued on. "I... thought..." she started, whimpering. "I'm a mousebrain, please forgive me!" she almost sobbed, not wanting to tell why she had left. I should have known better, she mentally scolded.

Seeing Ashstar appear from her den, he was about to say something but quickly shut his jaw when the leader embraced the younger she-cat's presence. Well, that certainly went better than he'd expected. "I'm, uh, glad that you remember eachother," he mewed softly, watching as the grey leader and Goatpaw reunited. Well, at least his mother was glad that she'd returned, or else he would've had to take the time to persuade the leader into letting the white she-cat stay, and in all honesty, he wasn't really in a persuading sort of mood.

Brindlewhisker lifted her head warily as Smokepelt entered camp with a stranger in tow, calling loudly for Ashstar. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the way that Ashstar and Smokepelt seemed to fawn over the stranger- didn't they see the obvious issue at paw? She quickly grew exhasperated at the scene, ears falling flat against her skull. Rising to her paws, she abandoned the fresh-kill pile she had been rummaging through to pad towards the reuniting trio, thick nape fur prickling uneasily. Couldn't Windclan ever have a day where nothing dramatic happened?

"It's very nice that your friend came back, Smokepelt" She mewed, eyeing Goatpaw disdainfully, "But why are you getting so excited? She left Windclan- why did you waste time by bringing her here?" Brindlewhisker questioned, voice unusually cold as she spoke. Her narrowed glare remained seated on Goatpaw while she addressed her grandfather with a clipped voice; it was one thing when a young cat or kit was brought into the Clan, but to bring in a runaway? 'She probably ran away the moment she felt hungry and stressed out even though all she ever had to deal with was her minimal apprentice duties!' She reflected scornfully, eyes flicking between Ashstar and Smokepelt.

Mottleheart was curled up tight in the medicine cat den, his side healing rather well even if he was still not allowed to sleep in his proper nest so that Beetlepaw could keep an eye on him. He had been asleep moments before but the sound of Smokepelt calling out for Ashstar awoke him with a faint start. Despite the throbbing pain, he pulled himself to his feet and lumbered out of the den to figure out what was going on. The moment an unfamiliar scent hit his nose, his fur was on edge as he spotted Ashstar, Smokepelt and an unknown she-cat standing in the middle of the camp.

He stalked forward despite the pain, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as a faint growl rose in his throat. He didn't know who this cat was - he didn't care. The only scent that he could recognize her was the stench of rogue and that told him everything he had to know. "Who is this?" he hissed as he came to a stop next to Brindlewhisker, doing his best to ignore her. "You aren't bringing loners into the Clan are you?" His voice was tight but firm. Loners, rogues, kittypets - they had no sense of loyalty other then to themselves. They would never fit in with the Clan mostly when you couldn't even always trust your own Clanmates to be loyal...The memory of Lionfur bubbled up in his mind, sending a sickening taste in his mouth but he said no more as he glared at the group.

There was a commotion outside, Twitckit could tell, and being cooped in the nursery was not what she wanted to do while there was something interesting going outside of the den walls. The brown kit poked her head out, silently, looking over at where the source of the noises was coming from.
Wow! It's Ashstar! Twitchkit thought, with her curiosity getting the best of her. Glancing back into the nursery, she made sure nobody was looking, before she padded out of the den, heading towards the crowd, and taking a leap forwards. There was a strange cat with Smokepelt, speaking to Ashstar, and the little brown kit immediately jumped to conclusions.
It's an enemy cat! I'm going to kill her and save the forest! Twitchkit thought, racing forwards. The brown she-kit darted between Mottleheart's legs, before stopping right in front of Goatpaw. She looked up at the former apprentice whom she had never seen before.

"Hey, you!" Twitchkit yelled up at Goatpaw. The fur on the back of her neck was standing up straight, and her tiny and harmless kit claws were unsheathed. However, she didn't look threatening or terrifying at all, all she did was make herself seem annoying.
"What are you doing here? Are you going to raid WindClan? I'll fight you myself! I-I'll make sure that you don't hurt WindClan! Come on! Fight me!" She said, a weak and shaky hiss escaping her jaws as she bounced back and forth, before pausing to balance herself on four paws.

Goatpaw drew herself back as several scornful comments touched her fur, but she didn't seemed phased. "I'm no rogue, nor am I a loner." Goatpaw commented harshly, seeming to look at all of them; she had never liked outsiders. But she seemed to have become one of them... she nearly frowned, disgusted by herself. She stepped back, tail lashing. But before she could open her mouth to continue, staring pointedly at Brindlewhisker, a kit began to leap at her paws. "Oh... who are you?" asked Goatpaw quietly, trying to make herself seem friendly, and not at all like an intruder. The wind soughed through the trees, as if to tell Goatpaw that she was unwelcome. She didn't crouch, but stood stiffly in front of the tiny brown kit. She had to make an effort not to bungle her words, but she seemed extremely nervous. She didn't look older than the cats interrogating her at all. She grazed her fangs a bit with her tongue, but her fur was fluffed out defensively. "I didn't see something... and I left because I was a mousebrain," maundered Goatpaw silently, almost so that no one could hear. She pinned her ears at Brindlewhisker's scornful look, hoping she could just be okay with this foreign new she-cat. As if she wasn't a rogue herself! Brindlewhisker didn't particularly have the stringy legs and sleek frame that a WindClan cat did... and Goatpaw didn't like it.

Laying his ears flat against his grey head, Smokepelt tried his best not to react to Mottleheart's and Brindlewhisker's comments. Great StarClan, did they always have to be so untrusting of cats? He understood that bringing loners or rouges into the clan was frowned upon, but the fact that they probably had no clue who Goatpaw really was made his fur stand on end.

Watching as his adopted kit, Twitchkit ran up to Goatpaw, he took a step forward and put a large paw on the kit's tail so that she couldn't get any closer to the white she-cat. Looking back to Brindlewhisker and Mottleheart with an somewhat blank, yet unforgiving expression, he let out a huff. "Before you just to conclusions, like you always do, I'd like to explain the situation," the deputy mewed stoically, trying his best not to hiss out the words. "Goatpaw is a former apprentice of WindClan and only left because she was given false information about my father. Although I understand your concern, you knowing nothing about her gives you no right to judge or blame her," he continued, looking from Brindlewhisker to Mottleheart and trying to keep his temper. Younger cats, they never gave anyone a chance and he wondered if other clans had the same problem with their next generation.

"Even though she did in fact leave, she did it with good intentions and that doesn't mean that she won't serve the clan any less than any other cat, so I'd appreciate it if you'd try a little harder to keep your derogatory thoughts and comments to yourselves," Smokepelt finished, scanning his gaze over the growing crowd and looked down to Twitchkit, hoping that she'd listened to all that he'd just said. Lifting a paw from the kit's tail, he took a sidestep towards Goatpaw so that their pelts brushed together once more. He hated having to be so blunt with his friends and family, but he was done with it all and no matter what happened, he wasn't willing to lose Goatpaw again and was determined to keep her safe, even if it meant that he went against some of his clanmate's wishes.

Mottleheart's eyes widen, a hiss of anger escaping from his throat. '...Jump to conclusions, like you always do?' Those words rang heavy in his ears as he stared at the deputy. He wasn't jumping to conclusions - he didn't recognize the she-cat and she smelled like a loner, his judgement and doubt was all fair. And while Smokepelt was no doubt trying to settle those doubt with his words, he still found the truth that Smokepelt claimed to be hard to swallow. Who would leave on false information?  Had Goatpaw not thought of making sure the information was true or what foolishly leaving the Clan would do?

Mottleheart could at least respect that the she-cat seemed to agree that her thinking was foolish but that still didn't ease his feelings. She had left one, what was going to stop her from leaving again if other false information caught her ear? Good intentions or not, she had left the Clan. And to a tom that loyalty meant everything to and preferred logic, he was unhappy with Smokepelt's claims. But there was one thing Smokepelt was right about - Mottleheart was going to keep the rest of his words to himself. He took a small step back as if Smokepelt had slapped his face with his tail, the unhappy words ringing in his head as he thought these bitter feelings.

If there was one thing Mottleheart had wanted it was to make Ashstar and Smokepelt proud. Ashstar was like a mother to him and his mouth felt bitter when he realized he had crossed a line in simply speaking his thoughts - fear that a loner would join their rank with no idea that she had once been WindClan. Mottleheart's eyes narrowed but he held back his hiss as he lowered his gaze. "Sorry for speaking out, Smokepelt," he finally said after a few moments before glancing at the she-cat at his side and acknowledged her with a slight dip of his head. "Goatpaw." The words felt strange in his mouth as he turned and stalked away, wincing in the pain it caused before settling down outside of the medicine cat den so that he could hear what else was to be said.

Ashstar sat up as more warriors arrived. Though she was very happy to see Goatpaw back, her warriors would probably be very confused. She needed this to go over well. Brindlewhisker and Mottleheart's accusations, were understandable, though not true. She knew that was definitely how she would react in their place. She respected all her warriors, and knew they would need an explanation. She opened her mouth to tell them about Goatpaw and the decision the leader would make, but before she said one word Smokepelt jumped in, rushing to defend the she-cat.

His words were hostile and offensive, and altogether unnecessary. The leader felt her pelt bristle as the gray tom went off on her most trusted warrior. Though she loved her son, there were some lines that he shouldn't cross, and yet he did, again and again. He was the one jumping to conclusions, quick temper firing up as though he had been personally threatened. As Mottleheart walked off coolly, Ashstar turned to glare at her son.

"What in StarClan's name was that?" she snarled, frustration at her son finally boiling over. "If you want to 'explain a situation', you do so with patience and respect, not hostility. Mottleheart and Brindlewhisker's mistrust of a cat they had never seen before was completely justified, and instead of showing them that you respect their beliefs, you lose your temper at them? There is no better way to incur resentment and hard feelings. Your fellow Clanmates were completely undeserving of that much anger. I remind you that you are not WindClan's leader. That was extremely foolish, Smokepelt, and I am disappointed in you. Perhaps you had better go take a walk to calm down. Consider yourself on probation until you can respect your fellow warriors. I will talk with you more about this later." Ears flat against her head, Ashstar shook out her gray pelt. She took a deep breath and turned to face the other cats.

"I understand your hesitation, and I feel some myself. Goatpaw was my apprentice a while ago, and left the Clan for reasons unknown. I am still not completely sure why or how this happened, but I am looking into it. I definitely respect all of your opinions, and I apologize if my son offended you. I will most likely take in Goatpaw, because she has expressed true remorse from her absence and because I believe she deserves a second chance. She will be an apprentice for six moons, and will be on watch until she oroves her trustworthiness, but I encourage you to think of her like you would any other apprentice. If you have any more concerns, come to me and I will hear you out." Ashstar nodded to the rest of WindClan and headed back to her den.

OOC: ik I just recently posted, but I wanted to get this out there and the muse/panic was too much, forgive me.

IC: Glad to see that Mottleheart had the brains to not challenge his word, Smokepelt's spirits were slightly lifted and he turned to his mother, though what she said next was most unexpected.

With his ears flat against his head once more, the tom's fur bristled and he stared at the leader, appalled by her harsh words. He... he had lost his temper? In his mind, he was genuinely proud of himself for not fully losing his temper towards his clanmates, but did he not actually hide his anger as much as he thought he did? Listening to his mother, the deputy's confusion soon turned to anger as she kept going off on him. All he'd wanted to do was make sure that they understood why Goatpaw was here, why was she so disappointed in him? All he ever wanted was to do was do good and make Ashstar proud, but the way that she addressed him over such a matter left him surprisingly bitter inside.

Digging his claws into the earth when she finished by stating that he was on probation of some sort and dismissed him to speak to the clan, the tom let out a soft huff from his nose and looked to Goatpaw. He hated having to leave her, but at the same time, he was in no mood to stick around the camp and decided he might as well do what his mother suggested, but not because she'd told him to do so. Giving the white she-cat a nudge on the cheek, Smokepelt's ears still rested flat on his head as he stalked off towards the camp entrance confused, irritated, and somewhat hurt by his mother's lecture, although he wasn't going to show it. Hmph, always too soft to the wrong cats, the lean tom thought to himself as he exited the camp, his head hanging low and his tail lashing back and forth. He still didn't understand why he was the one at fault here, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it. Besides, the leader's word was law, and the last thing he wanted to do was break that law.

Goatpaw's fur bristled. As much as she loved Smokepelt, she had to stand up for herself. "Smokepelt," she began quietly. "Mottleheart and Brindlewhisker... as I suppose they are called... have more than a right to think I am a loner. Ashstar is right, too; don't I look like one?" Goatpaw spoke soundly, no aggressive notion peeking into her tone. She could understand their concerns, but even when it was announced that she was no rogue or loner, Brindlewhisker still eyed her disdainfully. Goatpaw tried to settle, ashamed by all the trouble she seemed to have caused. She barely dared look up.